The Creatures of Magnolia Forest
by DarkDragoness97
Summary: Au inspired by BrennaCoris. [rewritten version]. Lucy's unusual. Even for a shifter from one of the two lines with the most concentrated blood. She's like the Kami's version of E.N.D, an infamous Akuma-wolf. Due to this the 'Demon's have her on the run in order to survive. Until she becomes stuck with fairytail, a pack with unusual members and a gateway to her past-self.
1. Prologue I: Mavis Vermillion

_**400 years ago; Mavis Vermillion. [prologue I]**_

 _Anna Hearfilia. She wasn't close to Mavis. In fact, the lighter-blonde had never met the girl until that day._

 _She lay there, her dull, dead eyes staring towards the sky. Dry blood caked around her human mouth, though the scent of her blood told Mavis she wasn't human. Like the bare-footed girl, she had a wolf that had prowled under her skin when she had been alive. Mavis suppressed her whimper as she crept closer to the woman. The corpse looked fresh and the woman herself only young -by 'look' standards, who knew her real age since shifters not only aged differently from humans but from other shifters, too-; her arm was bent out of place, her left leg missing and a hole through her chest. Looking closer one could see burn marks ranging from mild to sever littering her pale skin. Green eyes scanned the area around before darting back to the lifeless body. The village that the body lay in was abandoned with fire spreading quickly. The damage done could have been either wolf or human, yet...it was only her body, her being, that lay here. Most likely killed by humans, and left to be mauled at by any hungry animal that passed by._

 _Maybe._

 _Mavis felt her lip tug into a frown. That couldn't be right, the brown-eyed girls' corpse couldn't be that old. Fire still raged in the background, plus her body hadn't began decaying yet, so the woman could have only been dead for roughly a few hours at most. The young shifter sniffed the air._

 _Wolf-dogs._

 _A breed humans kept to sniff out shifters and then set them loose to hunt them down._

 _Her leg was most likely cut off by a human to stop her from being able to run far. The shorter girl knelt down besides the woman, carefully checking her over. Another wound straight through the throat. Cuts marred her arms. Her torso. Signs of humans finding a wolf living amongst them. Meaning her last moments alive were filled with torture in order to find out names of any other_ 'werewolves' _-as humans so kindly called their species- before burning her alive, something they loved doing to most_ 'witches', _and they were just humans with magical abilities who were often protectors, priestesses or healers and those few with good defense and attack types were usually hunters or leaders of their armies. Mavis shook her head, majority of mundanes -those without any magical ability- believe those different from them or more powerful -even if they are, themselves, the same species- are worth the death penalty. Apparently. Fear was a terrible thing when it involved them._

" _May you find the land of peace and rest" Mavis began to chant their traditional prayer for the fallen woman, whose name was only known to her due to the Heartfilia Crest tattooed onto her shoulder, bare via the cut in the fabric; and the iron chain dangling from her neck saying 'Anna'. It was possible that the necklace belonged to her mother, though it was doubtful. "May you be freed from the curse that was put upon our blood" She slowly laid her hand over Anna's open brown eyes, moving it down to close her lids and allow her to finally sleep until she was reborn. Mavis paused, hesitating on whether she should chant the last sentence, not only because she would not hear, but because it was too late and too obvious that she had not been given that luxury. Not when it came to the humans. Her breathing shook as she inhaled, deciding that she deserved the full thing just as they all did. "And may your last moments be without pain. Your last breaths come with ease" clenching her left hand as the last words left her lips, she exhaled loudly, the feeling of a heavy weight lifting from her shoulders. Humans found hunting them to be a sport recently. Even if they didn't think of it that way, they still bled shifters; wolf, rabbit, cat...it didn't matter to them. They continued to torture them and made their deaths long and painful, making certain that their species suffered for being born that way. For being_ cursed.

 _Not all humans were so cruel._

 _Some fought alongside them, both species fighting for peace._

 _Mavis felt it before she heard it. The cry of a child without her mother. Her lips clamped shut into a tight, thin line. A quick glance back down at the blonde woman, whose hair was soaked in red and brown; a mix of dry blood and mud. The way her death had been, the way she lay, her pale skin looking like moonlight or snow -even if the burn marks littered most of her- she reminded Mavis so much -too much- of her best friend, Zera. The tears fell down her cheeks before she could stop them._

 _The scenario the jade-eyed girl painted for this woman...was not so different from the one of her childhood. The only difference was that_ that _village -her village- had not been a human one, but a tribe for those like them._

 _The girls watery eyes closed, slowly opening as she looked up at the grey clouds passing by overhead. Now was not the time to think about it. Looking back at the woman a small, sad smile graced her face. "If, by chance, I cross paths with your child. I will give her this as a memento of your love for her, since I assume you did not get the chance to say a proper farewell" Mavis whispered as she took the necklace from the woman's neck. If she didn't see this woman's child, then she would keep the necklace with the other belongings of deceased shifters she came across, something kept in honour to remember those who have fallen over these past fifty years. Years leading up to the upcoming war._

 _A war against humans. A war for peace. For a world where shifters -wolf or other- and humans may be able to live side by side._

 _Unlikely._

 _Most of the humans who stood with the shifters have explained that that dream wasn't very realistic, though they had wished it was. The most likely thing to happen would be a treaty, and a land split in two. One side for humans; the other for shifters and the other creatures that man believed shouldn't exist._

 _The young-looking blonde sighed heavily, placing her dainty hands in the dirt on either side of herself, she moved to stand and dusted herself off. A whistled tune echoed from the treeline behind._ The humans were preparing to attack soon _. Two crow-like calls._ Two allies had died from injuries _. A howl from Zeref, her mate. He was back at the camp with news on the enemy's movements._

 _The daughters grief-ridden cry echoed once again._

 _Giving the corpse one last look, Mavis turned on her heel and headed back towards her camp, two miles south-east, east._

 _It wasn't hard to say that war had come sooner than anticipated. Nor was it unexpected that it lasted six decades. However, five years after the treaty was a made, she met a young wolf-shifter. Her golden hair and big, lively brown eyes could not be mistaken. At first Mavis had thought that the dead woman she had seen in that village had come back to life. Either to thank her or curse her. Turned out that had not been the case._

" _Layla Heartfillia." the Anna-look-alike smiled softly before looking down at her feet sadly. "I saw you...that day when my mother-" her voice broke, Mavis watched as the teenaged girl swallowed thickly, probably wanting to get rid of the built up lump she felt. "Thank you... for closing her eyes when I couldn't bring myself to" was all she whispered. How she knew it had been the shorter, older woman in front of her; how she had been certain, since she must have watched from a fairly far distance, Mavis did not know, nor did she ask; instead she moved her hands to the back of her slender neck to undo the iron clasp. That day was the first and last time that Mavis had worn that necklace, she wasn't sure why until after she had spoken to Layla. The bare-footed woman placed it in the girl's palm and closed it with her own on top._

" _I believe this belongs to you now"._

 _ **Maybe fate was real, and we really are all connected in some way. Perhaps things happen for a reason.**_ _Mavis thought long and hard about it for a while, she believed that fate was real. Destiny, however, was different. She was sure that destiny was what one made it, not what was decided or set in stone. Everyone chose their own destiny; but certain things -not all- that happen along the way, that was fate._

 _She knew that the moment she had smiled and watched Layla walk away that she would not see that blonde again._

 _Just as Mavis had saw Layla's mother… she would see her daughter, though she did not know_ that _back then either._

 _But when she did meet her daughter… it would be when the young -too young- girl cried over the death of her father, her last relative._

 _She knew -somewhere deep down- that there was something about the Heartfilia bloodline that was more cursed compared to other shifters. Something hunted them down. One by one. The main reason would be to do with Lucy herself. The girl was different to the other Kami-wolves, including Mavis herself. She was still a shifter, though she had a third form, a more powerful and concentrated form. A form that she had been born with. She still looked human, though the wolf ears and a single tail said otherwise -her human form took time and practise and was not as easily accessible as her wolf and semi-human form until she had turned fifteen._

 _She was not like the 'Akuma' bloodline, like the mighty and much feared E.N.D -a shifter who, too, had a third form, one that allowed him to wield flame- though this form -however similar to Lucy's in appearance- had nine tails, not one. 'Nine-tailed Fire Demon' was a name used by many for him. 'Fox-fire' was what the humans called his power, often mistaking his red-like fur for that of a fox rather than a wolf. No, Lucy was rare unlike those in the Akuma bloodline -many of them could phase into a third form due to the power of their blood though their tails ranged from one to eight, E.N.D being an exception- she was different because her bloodline was called 'Kami'. They were a sister-line to the Akuma's, but they were not bred for offensive magical power and none had a third form. None, of either bloodline, had been_ born _with their third form being their natural form. Though a prophecy had been told amongst both bloodlines of a shifter whose natural form would be that of Lucy's. A child born with an extreme amount of celestial magic._

 _That was how the bloodlines got their names. Kami, for magic of the heavens and Akuma, for their demon-magic, or curse-magic in some cases. Only the warriors of these bloodlines -those like the 'Zodiac Keys' and the 'Demon Gates'- were able to control their power and use it. Children within the bloodlines that showed traces of being able to use magic were taught how to wield and use it to the best of their potential and raised to become protectors. The Zodiac's were few, since only twelve -to outsiders, but those within the bloodline knew of the thirteenth- shifters from all three Kami clans -Heartfilia, Agria and the royal bloodline- were able to use magic. The Demon Gates were hunted and narrowed down from ten to eight due to the death of E.N.D and their 'Demon Slayer' Absolute Zero, whose names were only known to those who were members of the Tartaros clan, the only Akuma bloodline._

 _Sometimes fate could be funny, and not in a happy or laughable way._

 _That Layla's daughter would be the reincarnation of Layla's own mother._

 _If Mavis had known back then that crossing paths with Anna would have turned her life completely upside down; that it would have caused her to be dragged into this huge mess of life, death and war all over again_

 _...that it would lead her to meet E.N.D again…_

 _She would have still entered that burning village and lived through everything thrice more if necessary._


	2. Prologue II: Ayami Viridian

_**60 Years Ago: Ayami Viridian. [prologue II]**_

 _Ayami couldn't quite figure out how she ended up in this situation._

 _Well..she could but she still felt as though it wasn't real. After all...werewolves -or shifters as the species called themselves- were nothing but tales told to children to stop them from venturing into the wood around the human settlements. At least that's what she thought. Though it did make sense why her master -the village mage and healer to whom she had been the apprentice of since she, too, could use magic- had warned her of beings who were like yet unlike them._

 _"There are such creatures, like those in the tales, that do exist in our world" Is what she had told Ayami at the age of eight, two months after she had became Ms Spetto's apprentice. Ayami at the time just assumed that was her way of getting the young girl not to venture off whenever they left the village. She had never actually believed the older woman, now she kind of wished she had. Ayami sighed mentally. Or at least she would have if she hadn't of been shaking like a leaf out of fear. She gulped loudly, backing up further into the wooden hut behind her._

 _She was cornered._

 _The giant sandy-blonde wolf in front of her growled lowly as it stalked towards her, the familiar black eyes boring into her stormy-grey ones. A low whimper escaped her quivering lips as she tried to will her legs to work and run, something that she was beginning to lose faith in ever happening with the lack of stable feeling in them._

 _"Please.." was the only thing she could manage to get out, though she couldn't tell whether the massive male animal had heard it or not. Her legs began to feel weaker by the second. She quickly glanced around, a split second allowing the beast to edge closer without her noticing. The village was in complete chaos, villagers herded towards the centre with her separated. She knew that when an animal was separated from the herd, it usually meant that they would be killed and eaten. By the time her eyes focused on the wolf, he was only two feet away from her, causing her to scream and cry harder, tears escaping the corners of her eyes as she ducked down, knees to her chest and hands over her head as she cowered before it. "I don't want to die!" she couldn't help crying out. She could only pray that the monster before her would hear her plea and leave. She bit down on her lip; she knew he would not leave, that him and his pack would not just go away without eating them all. That was what the stories had told them._

 _Her eyes opened slowly as more than a minute passed._

 _The wolves now circled before her, all glancing between her and, she assumed, the alpha in front of her. This wolf was different to the one before, though he still stood not far behind. This wolf was slightly larger, with yellowish eyes and golden fur, silver streaks ran throughout it. Ayami wasn't sure if it was female or male, though most alpha's were male, the stories had said that some -though rare- were female. This wolf glanced back to the blonde one, who in turn gave what looked similar to a nod before their eyes turned back to the quivering auburn haired girl who had began to 'sneakily' crawl away like a cockroach. A low rumbling sound coming from the blonde wolf's chest caused the twenty-one year old to freeze, her hand hovering only an inch off the ground as her watery wide eyes turned slowly towards the pack in an almost comical way, if it had not been for the situation she was in, she would have agreed herself._

 _How had she ended up in this situation you ask? Well, you see, Ayami may or may not have stumbled across the blonde wolf while he was unconscious in his human form._

 _~Earlier that week~_

 _Ayami Sighed as she made her way across the village towards the gates to the forest that surrounded them. "Lavender, mint, nettles and mountain flowers...the lavender grows not to far away, nettles I can get from pretty much anywhere in the village, mint is a weed that tends to grow near Hargeon village…though I'm best waiting a few days for when the merchants come here, that area's apparently wolf-infested and would take a good month to get to on foot, I definitely don't have enough money to pay for the carriage ride there" the grey-eyed girl frowned, bringing her thumb to her mouth and lightly chewing down on the nail, "the mountain flowers, however will be slightly easier to get, more tricky still since the mountain range is at least a good half a day away walking and I-I can't ask Soji to take me since he's not here.." she sighed glancing at the sky, at least it was dawn, she might be able to get there and back before dark. Maybe. She'd have to be quick. Moving her hand back to her side she rummaged through her satchel. She'd also have to pick up some lotus and maybe a water snake, she needed it for old man Subaru -who actually wasn't old...he was only forty six- and his medication. Luckily there's some rivers and lakes not far from the mountain, and she had a sleeping bag on her just in case she had to camp out for the night, though she'd rather not be away from the village and its guards. Especially in that area at night, wolves tend to live there and -though she didn't believe in the stories of wolf-people a.k.a werewolves- that didn't mean she was fine being around that species, she was flesh herself and they could easily find her a yummy, defenceless treat. Magic or no, she didn't know many offensive moves, and the ones she did know took too much energy. She reached down to the whip that was attached to her thigh over her deer-hide pants. The only weapon she was a master of -not that it was the only weapon she actually knew how to use and one she had made herself with her master's help. She loved it dearly- then she reached to the handle of another weapon just below it. This was a whip too, but unlike her heart-tipped one, it only had a handle. The whip itself was made of her magic and in order to use it, required magical energy from its user. She hadn't quite mastered it and honestly, she had never really used it besides for training. In fact, she wasn't even sure why she even had it. Despite that tidbit, she never took it off and always had it on her. "Your normal whip would have no effect on certain creatures, and one day this may be the only protection you have against those creatures" was what Ms. Spetto had told her when she had given it to her. Even after several years of trying to use it, she couldn't actually summon enough magic for it, and when she did it either drained her or -which had happened on more than one occasion, usually when scared or angry- it goes out of control._

 _She continued to make her way through the village, quickly passing through the gate and clutched her jade cloak closer as she made her way through the thick wood towards the mountain side._

 _The sun had just passed through the centre of the sky by the time she made it to the lake not far from the mountains, she sighed as she took off her cloak and began to make her way to the glistening water to look for the non-venomous snake. Hopefully she spots one before leaving to get the flowers, she really didn't want to run out of daylight._

 _It was as she climbed up onto a medium rock at the water's edge that she had seen him._

 _A beautiful man, not much older than her. His dark blonde hair looked as though it was roughly jaw length, splayed about him. Her eyes widened as she noticed the blood covering his chest and she scrambled off of the slippery, algae covered surface and quickly made her way towards him, roughly grabbing her cloak on the way. She was only a few feet from the water when she dropped onto her knees and placed her hands above him. A faint golden glow wrapped around her slightly tanned hands as she closed her eyes and focused on finding the wound that caused the blood._

 _Her eyebrow twitched before her eyes opened and a confused glance landed on the heavily breathing and obviously unconscious male. He wasn't wounded, though scar tissue said he had been hurt….weeks ago by the repairing that had already taken place...yet the blood was definitely his and suggested he had only been heavily wounded hours ago. Ayami shook her head and sighed before leaning back on her hands and staring up at the sky. There wasn't anything she could do except to maybe wipe him down and continuing on with her ingredient collecting. Leaning forwards and getting up she rubbed the back of her neck, head going limp and rolling around to glance at the mysterious tanned male. She exhaled before reaching into her bag strapped across her and dug out a cloth. She made her way towards the lake to soak the material before going back over the sleeping blonde and wiping away the dried blood._

 _An hour or so had passed by the time she had managed to wipe down the stranger as well as capture the water snake -and putting it into a big enough container- She moved back towards the man and sighed, he was near enough naked, his pants shredded to pieces and his top...well she didn't actually want to think about his lack of top or where it could even be. The blazing sun would disappear in a few hours, and the shade had already began to crawl up his body "Surely you aren't stupid enough to not bring spares" Ayami muttered as she quickly placed her cloak over him and turned quickly, running as soon as she hit the last stretch of the clearing and into the forest that lead to the mountain side. She only had a few hours left, no where near enough time to get the flowers and get home unless she ran, and even then she'd have to sweet-talk the guards to let her back into the village so late. She was lucky that she could use her womanly charms otherwise she stood no chance._

 _Unknown to the young woman, the blonde male opened his eyes slightly, watching as her waist-long auburn hair swayed behind her as she ran off. He smiled softly, bringing the cloak up closer and breathing in deeply. His eyes closing once more._

 _She was weird, but kind and her smell was hypnotising. Human yet not quite. She also wasn't a shifter or any other creature of the forest. He knew the tinge of magic that was woven into her scent, that small vanilla-like tinge to the apple spice that covered her green and gold-lined cloak._

 _Mage._

 _He would find her again, he'd track her down if needs be. After all...he had to give her the cloak back somehow. That's something he could promise, and those of the Heartfilia clan don't break their promises._

 _ **-50 years after Ayami's encounter with her husband Lucas-**_

 _[10 years prior to present date and present Lucy]_

 _Ayami, now looking back on that day couldn't help but smile fondly. Who knew she'd fall in love with the shifter who had tracked her down to 'give her cloak back' -even though he didn't, he just captured her instead, how romantic….not- or that they would have a baby boy named Jude two years later. Though Ayami's true prize and most precious possession was her unique granddaughter, Lucy._

 _Ayami smiled as Lucy pouted. "Nanaa" the seven year old whined as she turned round, tears building up in her eyes, her golden tail swishing behind her in an almost impatient manner and her ears twitching in annoyance "I'm doing everything you're telling me to but this stupid thing won't listen!" the small blonde huffed, glaring at the leather whip in her hand. The greying woman giggled behind her hand as her eyes softened._

 _"Don't worry little lucky Lucy, you'll get the hang of it soon enough, see? You're getting better at it with every try" She wasn't lying, it was only her first day at it and she was already hitting the targets, something that took Ayami at least a week to learn, and she was already a teenager at that point. The young girl sagged, her ears going flat, and pouted even more as her eyes slowly moved to the side to watch the older woman before narrowing and darting away._

 _"You're only saying that because you have to, Nana." she murmured and Ayami sighed before kneeling down as the girl defiantly turned her head away, arms crossing._

 _"Lucy, dear, that's not true at all. It took me more than a week to be able to handle the weapon, even longer to learn" okay, so she lied to the young blonde...but, the way the little girl's ears shot up and her face brightened was definitely worth the little white lie._

 _"Really?" Lucy grinned before puffing her chest out proudly, hands on her hips. Ayami couldn't help but grin and nod back at her. Even if Lucy didn't quite look like her or her son Jude -since she looked like an exact replica of her mother, Layla, minus the ears and tail- she did have Ayami's personality and Jude's confidence...something the older woman blamed on her deceased husband, Lucas._

 _"Grandma Celestio?" Ayami blinked twice before looking at Lucy._

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Why is it that yours and grandpa's surname is Celestio and not Heartfilia? Aren't you also apart of mama's clan?"_

 _"That's because not everyone in a pack is related sweetheart. Besides, even relatives can have different surnames...hmm...take your uncle-" Leo was actually Jude's cousin, but it was easier for Lucy to just call him uncle since they were both pretty much inseparable "-Leo and his son Loke, for example, they're related to your papa but their surnames are Regulus. And if we had the same name as your mama wouldn't it be strange that she was married to your papa and had you?" she watched as Lucy placed a finger on her chin and thought about it._

 _"Then why is papa's surname 'Heartfilia' ? I thought mama's name was meant to change to papa's?" Lucy puffed out her cheeks, one of her ears flopping over slightly in confusion as her head tilted and Ayami couldn't help but coo at her cuteness._

 _"Aww! You're so adorable! and so very clever for noticing, my little star!" Lucy blushed holding her head high; she couldn't help but love being praised by her wonderful grandmother, especially when she pulled her in for a tight hug like she did just now. Loosening her grip on the child, Ayami smiled down softly "It's simple, because your mama is the alpha and it's tradition for those married, or-" as rare as it was- "-mated to an alpha of a clan to also take their name, otherwise it would no longer be the 'Heartfilia Clan' but something else entirely…" Ayami thought for a moment before adding "well...I think that's the reasoning anyway, I wouldn't really know since I'm only human and not from any shifter clan originally nor do I know their history and traditions very well, only the very basics" she was only a human after all, even if she did control magic._

 _"Nana?" Lucy pushed out of the grey-eyed womans arms and looked up curiously._

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Can you tell me another one of those human stories again? About the princess stuck in the tower? Or the fairy without wings? Or! or-!"_

 _"How about a new one?"_

 _"A new one..! What's it about? what's it about?!" Lucy couldn't help but to bounce on her toes, hands clasped together as her eyes glistened in excitement._

 _"It's about a forbidden love between a boy and a mermaid, it's very sad, but it's a beautiful story" Lucy frowned at the fact that this would be a sad story, but she wanted to hear it anyway. She knew some of these stories weren't all happy and ones containing the creatures living outside of the human villages were even more so, some even dark and scary._

 _Red Riding Hood was one she wasn't too fond on. Not because it was scary…-much-...but because the wolf was a representation of her kind, even if humans of this age didn't know that. The humans cast her and her family as villains, as beasts that would eat the humans. To humans it had a happy ending.. but she had cried. The wolf had been killed. Sure, he had killed the human girl's grandmother...but that was because they believed it was something her kind did._

 _Some of her species, as she would find out later on in life, did kill humans._

 _They had also killed shifters. They did not care._

 _They would kill her mother within a year of that day, two days before her eighth birthday._

 _Then her father a years later, in the early morning of her ninth birthday._

 _Then, once she ran to her grandmother for safety, they would follow her there and take Ayami from her, too._

 _And eight years later, she would meet a bunch of loud, chaotic idiots...that would become her new family. Though she would miss her old one dearly, and regret how they had died because of her, because they were protecting her. However, she would not regret meeting her new pack, even when she came to regret not sticking to her own rules; including staying with them._

 _But for now, as she lay in her grandmother's bed with Ayami reading the original 'The Little Mermaid' by Hans Christian Anderson next to her, she would smile and yawn and cry about how unfair it was for the prince to not love the mermaid back and at what the girls sisters had done to try and save their youngest sister -even if they weren't harmed, cutting one's hair all off would still be hard, especially when it was so long and beautiful- unknowing of how little time she, herself, had left before she was left all alone and on the run._


	3. Chapter I: Running Start

**Chapter One: Running Start.**

 _The smell of blood and salt filled the air. The screams and howls of pain and battle raged on as Layla continued to run with Lucy clinging to her back, tears flowing as the small blonde tightened her grip almost painfully into her mother's platinum fur, a shade much lighter than her usually sunshine blonde. Lucy whimpered as Layla's paws aggressively pounded against the ground, eating up meters as she panted heavily. Protect. Run. Quicker. Faster. That was all the older shifter could think and mutter under her breath as she made her way through the dark tunnel towards the emergency exit, too focused on putting distance between her daughter and the 'demons' who came to take her away from them, so much so that she had not even noticed the wolves who chased after her, closing in from the sides._

 _Lucy watched in horror, her tears falling as her eyes widened in shock._

 _One moment she was clinging onto her mother, crying and wondering where her papa was -if everyone was okay- and the next Layla had been forcefully knocked sideways, Lucy being flung off her back and rolling feet away from the female wolf. "Lucy, run!" Was the pained shout that Layla gave before she clawed and snapped at the two wolves that tried to circle around her to get to the child as she heaved herself up from the impact they had given her to stop her from running away. Lucy sat up, her cheeks stinging slightly from grazes as her arms wobbled underneath her, the only thing holding her up off of the ground. "M-mam-"_

 _"NOW!" Layla growled, not turning around to watch as her daughter flinched and shakily tried to get up, stumbling and falling onto her knees. "Please, sweetheart...listen to me and run...I'll catch up to you, I won't leave you alone" Layla moved to block the black female wolf, not allowing her to have a direct path to her little girl. "You need to go sweetie, please". Frowning, Lucy gave a feeble nod at her mother's desperate plea for her to flee. She would be a good girl and do as her mama says. So, biting down on her quivering lip, she began to move, though she was crawling at first, trying to find the stability in her legs to be able to run on them, before the adrenaline kicked in and she dashed towards the back of the cave, where a hidden escape entrance lay. She didn't stop, even when she heard her mother howl in agony, in defeat; even as she felt -and heard- her mother take a last breath, she continued to run, albeit slower and with more difficulty... but she continued until she was through the mouth of that cave; until she had passed the clearing and the treeline. She ran until dawn began to bleed the sky red and pink and she collapsed from exhaustion onto the bank of a river far from her home, further than she had ever been from the safety of her clan. Her family._

 _When she opened her eyes again, the scenery had changed. The river bank had turned into a meadow, one she was familiar with, though she had only been there once. It was a place she had been to with her father, a year after her mother's death. His final memory and one that haunted her. She knew what she would see as she turned to her left._

 _Her father lay next to her, his breathing laboured and she felt more tears escape the corners of her eyes. "Lucy" the familiarity of his voice caused her chest to tighten. It was the first time in so long that he had called her by her name, had acknowledged her existence...and had sounded so very pained and vulnerable. The tenderness and regret within his voice cause her tears to fall more rapidly. She had spent those months since her mother's death showing barely any signs of emotion around this man that had been her father. In fear he would lash out at her like he did during that first week that had followed the 'cave incident'. He had not been much of a father once he had found Lucy. Alone and without Layla. She had been too much of a reminder of her to him, and no matter how much her grandmother had screamed and argued with him, he had not changed the cold attitude he had around her. Not once. "I'm...sorry" the wheezing sound that accompanied his breathing became more noticeable, a squelching sound began to make an appearance with each deep breath he gasped down. She wished she had been born like the other children, her sensitive wolf ears picked up the horrible, wet sound with ease. She bit down on her lip, hard enough for her small, almost unnoticeable, pointed canine to pierce the skin and draw blood. She flicked her tongue out, licking it up as she cleared her throat._

 _"What for?" her voice was rough and broken, her throat dry and constricted due to lack of fluid and the pressure that built up making her feel as though she was being suffocated by a red-tailed boa. "Y-you've done noth-"_

 _"-I've done nothing for you...all these-" Her father coughed, the fur covering his body was covered in both old and fresh blood, drool from his mouth onto the little girls skin as his coughing fit subsided "-all these months...I let you suffer...alone" he managed to choke out the rest of his sentence. Lucy watched as he closed his eyes, head laying flat on the floor as a golden shimmer took over. Once the light faded, Jude lay there in his human form. "That is why I'm sorry... I was so cold" another deep, wheezing breath and the sound of blood filling his lungs at a pace that unnerved her. "I wish that I had... more time with you" each word was becoming harder for him to speak, she could tell that his body quickly draining of life and energy. "I guess...after Layla…" they both knew he could never bring himself to say what had happened, Lucy was no different, "I pushed you away… knowing that if I could not protect my mate… I would not… be able to… protect you" He gulped down more air, his hand lifting up to reach blindly towards her and Lucy crawled desperately to him, clinging onto him, one hand clasping his and the other gripping his arm as she brought it to her face, curling herself towards him as she rubbed her cheek along the back of his already too-cold hand._

 _"Please don't leave me, papa" she hadn't meant to sound so needy. So vulnerable. A side that she had not shown to him since he had snapped and called her 'pathetic and useless child'. She knew he blamed her for Layla's death, it was her fault for being born so different._

 _Jude's eyes opened slightly at the word 'papa' a small smile tugging at his lips. "I wished I hadn't...pushed you away...for so long" he paused, squelching deep breaths ringing out in the otherwise silent area, "I missed the way you called me 'papa'" a short chuckle rumbled through his chest before he began coughing, his head tilting sideways and the red liquid began to dribble out from the corner of his mouth "I have no excuses, but I am glad that I had managed to keep you safe one last time... even if it only gives you a few hours head start." They both knew more of the akuma-line shifters would come after her, they wouldn't stop until she was within their grasp or their bloodline became extinct. Lucy sniffled._

 _"I-if I hadn't of been born none of this wo-"_

 _"Don't" The icy edge to Jude's voice froze her. "Don't ever say that" the coldness began to fade as he continued "You, Lucy Heartfilia, are our precious star, our Lucky Lucy...I will never regret having such a wonderful daughter" Jude groaned as his breathing began to become shallow and speed up. "I do not have long left, so please let me say what I need to quickly" Lucy swallowed thickly, her eyes raw and stinging from crying and refusing to blink, she didn't want to waste time blinking when she only had minutes at most with her dad. She also didn't want him to talk anymore as she figured it would cause him to leave her quickler "I had always loved you, Lucy… just as Layla had… so don't ever regret being alive... Keep living... for you, for us...keep running and never stop, never look behind you... and never let anyone keep you from surviving… you're valuable and much too powerful to be caged." Lucy watched as the words quickly tumbled from him, half of them barely hearable or eligible with the amount of gasping and the lack of energy he had left forcing them out. She couldn't help but disagree, though she would never voice it out loud to him, not at a time like this. She wasn't as powerful as people -her family and the Akuma wolves- thought she was. If she so powerful then why was she running? If she was so powerful then didn't that mean she could have protected and prevented the deaths of those dear to her? Still, her father continued on, oblivious to the thoughts his daughter was having, "If...no- when you find your mate….do not submit… I say this, not to be harsh but to protect you... unless they can over power you, unless they prove stronger, do not give in. If they cannot protect you then they are not worth it...you have to protect yourself, needing to protect another… it will not help you in the long run and will hurt more..." Jude's face scrunched up, his words becoming harder and harder to understand, she had to lean in close enough for his breath to grace against the shell of her ear, just to be able to faintly hear him, even with her freakish wolf-girl ears -she believed they made her a freak, even if all the Kami-blood clans had treated her like some kind of 'blessed-born'. "Lucy...protect only yourself...if you become mated to any male or female who can't overpower you… they will only put you in danger... and you will go crazy, just as I and many others have, when you lose them." Due to her celestial -'heavenly'- magic, she could sense when the spirit was close to death, the way the aura faded, and it was how she had known her mother had gone without seeing it with her own eyes. "I do not want you to hurt and I do not want you to stop surviving... even at the cost of love" Jude inhaled one last shaky breath before adding "I'm sorry...for being so selfish…"_

Lucy woke up with a start, tears still pouring out of her eyes before closing them again, letting out a soft sigh and flopping back down onto the furs she had sewn together for a sleeping bag. "Not real" she would tell herself as she stared at the stars in the night sky, the chill biting at her cheeks and arm as she moved the left limb from the warmth of inside her 'bed' to place across her wet eyes. The truth was...it had been real. Meaning it wasn't happening at that point in time but it had happened in the past.

Just two of the four memories that haunted me was what it was. She thought bitterly.

She took in a slow shaky breath, holding it for a second or two before exhaling just as slowly. She repeated the deep breathing for about a minute before moving her arm so she could peek through her uncovered right eye This was why she spent more and more time in her wolf form -'second phase'-, there were less… feelings and the longer she stayed in that form the safer she felt. She wasn't vulnerable, or cold. She rarely needed to bathe or carry this damn fur-bag for a bed around with her -her wolf fur was plenty warm and the ground felt like a damn cloud when she was in the bigger, sturdier form- plus it was easier to hunt and eat in; in her second phase she could just eat the animals she killed raw, since her stomach could digest it and not cause her to feel ill -or kill her- but in her human form...well...the structure of a human was just so different. It was strange, but that's just the way it worked. All structures of their body changed apart from their being -who they were, their 'soul' or whatever one wanted to call it- their spirit, that was her theory anyway, she doubted many of her kind thought about why their bodies were different within the phases. Yet their thoughts, feelings and memories stayed the same no matter which form they took. Then again...she could also digest the raw meat in her third form -the one she was born in, her natural state of being- without any problems, and she was tougher and less likely to freeze to death in that form too. She was stronger, warmer and more agile in that form and it was much easier for her to wield her magic since she can perform her more powerful spells, heighten her abilities to that of the 'Zodiac' -she could use the power of Leo, Virgo, Gemini, etcetera, to enhance her own abilities, she called this 'using the zodiacs' since she could use the exact same power as the person who was appointed to the position within her old clan- even if they did take time and practise to perfect, which is something she had managed to do though it tires her out and drains quite a bit when in her human form, so her time using the powers of her friends was quite limited to roughly fifteen minutes -a nuisance if you ask her since she had no limits when it came to her natural form unless it was her most powerful spell.

Urano Metria.

A spell on a whole different level than any other categorised or known, it was something that had been a 'poem' or something and had sometimes been used as a prayer of sorts to the heavens during their constellation festivals, mainly for the Draco or Leo one, within the Kami clans. That was until Lucy decided one day to read it aloud while playing about with her distant cousins Yukino, Hibiki and the royal princess Hisui, to which everyone had been surprised at the powerful spell that had ultimately annihilated a good twenty odd trees from the forest in front of the four children and had caused Lucy to topple over and faint for a few hours due to the major drain of magic from her small body. This then causing her to suffer from Magic Deficiency Disease, also known as MDD. Fortunately, it had not been severe enough to be fatal and had been treated quite quickly and efficiently with an elixir that had helped replenish her magic by a small amount, enough so that she recovered at an average pace; though she did end up with a hot and cold fever that didn't leave for a good two weeks and some form of memory loss since she couldn't remember what had happened afterwards due to the spell taking over her and forcing her into a trance-like state once her magic had been activated… for the first time ever. She remembered how lucky her grandmother had said she was, since her friend Porlyusica knew of remedies to help with these situations. _"You should be more careful, brat"_ the pink haired woman had said as an introduction, and _"Such an unusual creature"_ as way of departure. It was not the last time she saw the grumpy woman. Only weeks after the loss of her father, the blonde and her ten Zodiac guardians had ran into -literally, Lucy will always recall the earful she had been given- the ageing pinkette. It was her that had taught Lucy that she wasn't exactly...normal, even by their standards, hence the 'unusual creature' quote that soon became a sort of pet name. Grandine, Lucy came to realise was the woman's real name, became someone she could trust and depend on over the years as she practised her magic and learned to take on a fully human form; training that, often, left her drained and on the brink of having MDD over and over again.

As the years passed by, and Lucy's magical reserves grew and strengthened, Porlyusica came by less often until she stopped all together only months before the blonde teenager lost her friend and guardian, Aquarius. Lucy still missed her and spent months searching for the aging woman. That was when she came across Mavis two years ago when she had been fifteen. The woman, though over four-hundred years old, only looked around Lucy's age, somewhere between thirteen to sixteen, though Lucy knew not to judge a shifters age from their appearance -Layla had been four-hundred and ten and looked younger than Jude who was fifty-five- Mavis told Lucy how she was her last remaining direct relative, being somewhat of a great-aunt or grandmother since she was Anna's sister, something she wasn't quite sure of since her mother never actually mentioned her family other than those that were part of the clan. Yet Mavis took her in and looked after her, often keeping the taller-by-an-inch darker blonde company as she travelled as a nomad -such wolf-shifters were often referred to as 'lone wolves' or 'wanderers'- Lucy preferred the term 'independent'.

As they travelled, Lucy often found herself in unwanted situations, especially when Mavis or her mate Zeref wasn't around -which was very often whenever they got close to other territories or near other shifter nomads- mainly due to them not wanting to be seen by others, they were rumoured to be dead and they wanted to keep it that way, Lucy never pushed for more details as to why and they never spoke of their reasoning either. It was roughly six or seven months ago, a few weeks after she had last seen her grandparents Mavis and Zeref, that she realised why she attracted so much attention, especially from alpha's and stronger wanderers. She hadn't been aware of it, not really thinking of her lineage while on the run and trying to stay alive, but she was still an alpha. An unmated. Female. Alpha. Rare in and of itself for an alpha to be female, but to still be unmated? And on top of that she was a nomad meaning she had no pack and no home, unprotected yet powerful enough to fight off foes. That was how they saw it. Granted, Lucy wasn't the only unmated female alpha around, she'd come across many, some of whom had also tried to fight her into submission, but those who hadn't had been a lot younger and weren't at the age to find or become mated, since they were too young to have even started their first heat, their first bleeding. Lucy cringed as she recalled some of the younger female alpha's that she had met… though they were not exactly old enough to be fully mated -since one had to have bled first for the act to mark the woman as mated [she wished she knew why]- they hadn't been… unmated… and that didn't sit well since one of them had been as young as nine, while another -older than the others- had been twelve. It had been enough that Lucy felt violated just by being close enough to them and being able to still smell the scent of their mating. She had quickly traded the medicines she had made for much-needed supplies and left. Even when he father had been so cold, he had never even mentioned mates or life-partners and he had certainly not tried forcing her into one. Maybe it was because he had not wanted her to find someone, in order for her to not get attached and save her from the same heartache that had made him crazy and power hungry at one point. Though, unfortunate for the young girls, she had learnt that it was not uncommon for females to be mated early on in life. That didn't mean she had to accept it as normal or even acceptable by her own moral standards. She preferred going into human villages and trading or buying there instead sometimes due to the lack of things there: like 'mated' children and the feeling of being watched.

The human's believed she was a travelling merchant and were easy to buy off of her since most medicines she carried -her grandmother had taught her from a young age, and afterwards grandine had picked up were Ayami had left off- were not only cheaper than the ones from their mages, but also ones from other area's of the country that could take weeks to even gather the ingredients to and sometimes take months to prepare. Plus she got extra money from the mages for the more rare herbs and plants; something she also made sure to carry when entering those settlements as the more experienced mages could sense she wasn't human and tended to leave her alone if she had valuable items that they needed or wanted. Lucy sighed, she was lucky in a way. Even if she had made a promise not to ever fall in love and to give up that form of happiness -as well as the idea of one day having her own family- her father was right, she should only worry about herself and her own survival. Falling in love would not only endanger her but her partner, too, along with any offspring they may have. The brown-eyed girl knew she wasn't strong enough to protect someone else as well as herself. She could hold her own perfectly well, but only if its against a non-akuma wolf. Unless of course she used her third form...but she doubted anyone would want to be with her if they ever saw that form. Who knew, after all, E.N.D had a form similar, right? His was different even from the third-forms of the other akuma, yet he still had a mate.. She quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts as she sat up. No, she would not even think about having a mate or even accept a possible one, even if it was a true mate.

Lucy closed her eyes and turned onto her side, pulling the fur to cover her up and snuggled into the bed in hopes to lull herself back to sleep for a couple more hours. She knew she wasn't far from the Sabertooth pack now. She'd get there in no time. Her only problem were the neighbours: Fairytail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus. Mermaid Heel was no problem, they allowed nomads through their land freely, as long as they were female -since it was a female-only pack- and you didn't threaten them or stay without consent. The other three worried the blonde, though she could choose between Lamia and Pegasus to pass through their territories since they were side by side. Fairytail, however, was the largest of the five main territories, centred in the middle and right before Sabertooth. Normally she wouldn't risk it, but winter was closing in fast and it would take her months to go around, and only weeks to go through. She had little choice: Risk starvation from the lack of food as she went the long way around, or go through and make it to Yukino and Sorano before the worst of winter hits.

As long as the Fairytail shifters don't notice, she would be fine.

Though the only problem was they weren't all wolf-shifters. And two of the members were actual fairies, including the last Fairy Queen herself as the beta member. Erza Scarlet was not one to underestimate.

Maybe she would call in that favour to Jellal, another Kami-blood, close cousin to her friend princess Hisui and a guy she had met when she had found him injured in the woods during her stay at Hargeon village. Perhaps he could get that extremely cute pink-haired male he had been with to cause a distraction for his alpha and clan-mates while she quickly slipped through, just like she had done in Hargeons human town for the two boys last year.


	4. Chapter II: Strung Up in Affairs

_**A/n: I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than the others, also thank you so much guys for the positive feed back and the criticism, it helps a lot when writing, also there will be other things involved, not just Tartarus, and the longer paragraphs were sort of because I wasn't really reading through or breaking them down properly, it looks longer on a phone screen than a laptop and I didn't really think it through much.**_

 _ **Also, this story isn't actually different from the first, it's just a remake. I've changed things and edited the story itself so other things happen and it progresses in a different way, but besides that, it should still have a similar out come.**_

 _ **I won't have regular updates, because with life being a complete and utter bitch, I'd never been able to update in time, HOWEVER! I'm not abandoning any of my stories, nor will I ever. I'm also not going to be remaking any of them anymore nor will I be doing any more Fairy Tail multi-chapter stories once these are finished, only one-shots [and Seduce Me fan-fiction that I'm currently working on, sorry guys but Sam/Aomaris has stolen my heart and I'm obsessed, please send help!].**_

 ** _On the other hand, depending on whether people are okay with slow releases, I might do one more multi-chapter Fairy Tail Fic. It'll be the continuation of The Heartfilia Curse with the second alternate ending [chapter two of 'Some Curses are meant to be Broken While Others may be Changed'_** ** _] and will be delving into the depths of why Natsu was targetted as well as the 'Draco Legend'. I would really appreciate any feedback you guys have. Thank you so much for your support and reading my stuff!_**

 **Chapter Two: Strung Up in Affairs.**

Her plan, however, didn't go the way it was meant to. In fact, in her mind, it went horrifically wrong. Though in reality, it wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be. After all, only a few details went 'off track'.

She managed to get authorisation to cross Lamia Scales territory -she'd been ecstatic that they said yes, she wasn't too keen on asking for permission from Blue Pegasus. Not with their reputation of flirting and being a bit 'too-close-for-comfort' ways anyway- but that's where her luck decided to flutter away in the late autumn breeze like the falling leaves that surrounded her.

She had waited two days for Fairy Tail's patrol. Even called out in both her wolf and human forms to see if she could gain their attention. She even tried marking around their area. Sure, she knew it might thoroughly piss them off, but hey, she was desperate to gain access in order to reach Sabertooth.

She was running out of time for crying out loud!

She tried everything she could think out, without crossing over.

Nothing. Had. Worked.

So, once the sun began to lower, and the shadows became longer, she decided that she couldn't wait any longer. Not when there were only a handful of leaves left to fall and the wind became icier every passing hour.

She'd starve.

The blonde knew how painful and slow the process was. She had almost died from starvation the year prior. She did not want to go through that again. So, she took the initiative. She would keep going forwards once dawn approached and make it to Sabertooth before the risk of winter took hold.

Besides, she hadn't seen any of the members of Fairy Tail, so if she stuck to the outskirts there was a possibility of them not even noticing she was there until she'd already been and gone.

She couldn't help but smirk as she shook her fur and began to trudge forwards, the dead leaves crunching beneath her dirt-covered paws.

Looking back on how she ended up trapped, hanging upside down in her human form and clutching her skirt to keep herself covered, she could see where she went wrong.

 _You're too cocky, Lucy!_ Sorano would often scold her for it.

The blonde's confidence and ego were sometimes a little too much. By 'sometimes' meaning most of the time, Lucy had a big head when it came to herself that she often forgot that there were smarter, stronger and, on the rare occasion, more beautiful -One of Lucy's weaknesses was vanity, though she doubted herself whenever she met someone who fit into those three descriptions [something she would never admit]- people out there.

Which had put her in the situation of not bothering to keep an eye out for things going wrong: like someone from the territories pack spotting her, or any traps set up in the area.

Lucy groaned, her head beginning to feel warm from the blood flowing there as she swung back and forth, dangling from a tree by a rope that was wrapped around her ankles.

It hurt more than she thought it would. A lot more.

Chewing on her lip she narrowed her brown eyes in thought. She could phase into her wolf form, but then, what if the rope cut through her legs?!

Grimacing, she shook her head. No, that probably wouldn't ever happen, right? She felt like her imagination was just running away with her sanity when it came to that though, but she didn't want to risk it.

She could try-

"That's it!" she bashed her right fist into her left palm. She could try swinging herself up with sit-up's, grab the branch above her or climb up and undo the rope attached to the branch! _Brilliant! Oh, Lucy, you are a genius!_

Two hours later, and she was back to facing the upside down scenery.

"Ugh, can someone hurry up and help me down now?!" her throat was sore from calling out for help.

 _I could really use some water right about now._

The blonde stretched her arms as far as they could go, wriggling her fingers in hopes of reaching her deer hide bag, though she knew it was fruitless. Her bag lay at the base of the tree, a mere four foot away from her outstretched hands, mocking her.

She knew there was water within her satchel, something she was starting to feel a little desperate for as she licked her dry lips.

Then her stomach grumbled and she turned bright red, quickly scanning the area. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw no one had heard the distress call coming from her upper abdomen. Only to sigh deeply when she realised she didn't care if someone actually _had_ heard it since that meant someone would be able to help her get down.

Plus it was starting to get cold now that the sun was setting.

"Great. Everything goes well until the afternoon, and you go and get yourself stuck. Wonderful. Honestly". Maybe she was going a little stir-crazy, and talking to herself helped, but that didn't help the fact that it was going to get a lot colder and she was scared of not being close to a fire or in her wolf skin.

By the time she decided she would risk her feet for phasing, the sky was dark and the stars bright. Her pale skin had gone even paler, if possible, and her lips were beginning -or at least felt like they were- to turn blue. She couldn't stop the shaking, even after she changed.

Unfortunately, she was still tied up, though she was thankful she got to keep her feet. Which meant that the rope was blessed by magic, and it wouldn't be easy to cut through.

So she did the next best thing she could think of.

She howled as loudly as she could, feeling some form of satisfaction when she heard an answering one.

However, her satisfaction and relief from knowing help was coming were short lived when she realised how this was going to look. Even more so when a second and third howl accompanied the first.

Sounding absolutely _livid_.

 _Raiders?_ It was the only thing she could think of since the first howl sounded completely different in tone.

'Raiders' was merely another term wolves called 'Dark Packs'.

The flashing image of Tartarus' alpha, Mard Geer, passed quickly in and out of the forefront of her mind, but she knew these were not them. The howls were not the same.

However, it was only a matter of time before someone found her if she didn't hurry and escape. She began to struggle and twist and claw at the rope. Even attempting to snap the blasted rope with her teeth.

The seventeen-year-olds energy spiked, adrenaline fueling her as panic rose within her chest when the sound of something big closed in on her. She swallowed thickly, afraid, but trying to persuade herself that she wasn't.

Flinching and scrunching her eyes shut as some form of wood snap from her left, an almost silent growl sounded from the same direction.

 _Please don't let me die here. Please. This isn't how I'm supposed to die-_

Then she fell.

Her body hit the ground rather harshly, and she groaned as she failed to get back on her feet. Brown eyes opened to see a large, reddish-brown male staring down at the girl before moving to help her up.

"Maybe later I'll figure out why you're in my territory, trespasser, but right now you need to hurry up and come with me. Can you walk?" His voice sounded hoarse, strained, and Lucy could only assume from shouting and calling demands.

"I can" He pulled away, no longer supporting her weight. She winced as she put her weight on her back left leg. Probably sprained from that stupid trap. Lucy wanted nothing more than to growl at the damn tree she had just been strung up from but decided she didn't need this guy thinking she was some kind of insane creeper threatening a tree.

"You hurt?"

"Just a light sprain. Am I correct in assuming you're the alpha?"

"Maybe. The name's Natsu, what's yours?"The male turned to her just as she began to choke on her own spit. "Weirdo". Yeah, it was definitely the same pink haired dolt she remembered saving, especially with those unusual, dark forest green eyes.

"Ahh, I believe your debt has just been paid, Natsu" the male huffed, slowing down his pace before looking her over.

"What debt-"

"Hargeon. I saved you and Jellal's arse if I do recall correctly".

"L-Lucy?" The shock was evident, even with his wolf fur covering his face, but she couldn't help but smirk.

"The one and only, in the flesh...sort of" she nudged into his side.

"And here I thought you were human." He nudged her back before picking up their pace, leading her into a soft run before breaking into a sprint. "Now isn't the time for catch up though. Can I ask for another favour?" The blonde shrugged. If she does this, then surely he'll let her through without any problems, heck maybe even let her spend a night or two until her ankle feels better.

"Sure. Lead the way, Mr Alpha" At least she could run on it, providing she puts some of her weight on her other legs anyway.

"Good. Thanks".

In all honesty, she should have just said no and left.


End file.
